What would a new season of fantasy football be without predictions about which teams will come out of the gates flying and which teams lose their jockey? We are not going to find out. Instead, we'll tell you how week 1 should go in the always competitive People's League.
People's Pigskin vs. Hudson Valley Hawks2: You, the Internet, helped us pick a superb lineup for this week. And you, the Internet, should get the credit as the Pigskin season starts with a win.
t-bay jacks Young'ry Bucs vs. VinSeth Vaughn Bears: The Bears were among the fantasy teams across the country that suffered when Mark Ingram failed to find the end zone at the end of Thursday night's game. That failure may prove the difference in a Bucs win.
Minneapolis Fantastic Houll vs. Team Brotherton: One thing that fantasy players hate more than single-digit starter scores is the letter "Q" next to a starter's name. And Austin Collie's questionable status is compounded by the questionable status of his offense in Kerry Collins' hands. Look for a Brotherton victory.
Glen Gardner's Finest vs. Arcadia Roses: Michael Vick was the MVP of a lot of fantasy leagues last season, and he's showing no signs of being anything else this season. You can ignore all the "dream team" talk, but you can't ignore the potential for the Finest to prevail.
LA Lockouts vs. Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85: The Lockouts already have 53 fantasy points, and that's before Adrian Peterson, the number 1 pick in a lot of leagues this summer, takes the field with his new contract. The Lockouts should hold on to this lead through Monday night.
Take a moment to remember the fallen, and enjoy the games. We'll be back with some NASCAR results and fresh polls.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The People's Choice - Week 1
We are (finally) ready for the first Sunday of the National Football League season. Before we get this pigskin smorgasbord under way, we need to thank you, the Internet, for voting on the lineup polls that determine who the People's Pigskin will start this week against the Hudson Valley Hawks2. Here are the results.
Quarterback: Some of these choices will be simple. Tony Romo won this poll by a landslide, so he gets the start. He faces the New York Jets on Sunday night.
Running back: We might not have gotten the running we targeted in our draft, but we do have a few that you like. The top two vote-getters were Ray Rice (who plays the Pittsburgh Steelers) and DeAngelo Williams (who visits the Arizona Cardinals).
Wide receiver: We did get our targeted wideout, Larry Fitzgerald. He won this poll and gets the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Percy Harvin finished second, so he gets the other starting spot. He visits the San Diego Chargers today with his new quarterback.
Flex: This spot can go to a running back or a wide receiver. We will give it to the player who finishes third in his poll and gets the most votes. If there is a tie (as there was this week), we will go with the player projected by ESPN to score more points. This week, Joseph Addai is projected to score one more point than Wes Welker, so Addai gets the nod at the Houston Texans.
No surprises at tight end (Jason Witten, who visits the Jets) or defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who visit the Baltimore Ravens), and we already used John Kasay on Thursday night.
Grab some popcorn. We'll be back shortly with predictions for this week's action in the People's League.
Quarterback: Some of these choices will be simple. Tony Romo won this poll by a landslide, so he gets the start. He faces the New York Jets on Sunday night.
Running back: We might not have gotten the running we targeted in our draft, but we do have a few that you like. The top two vote-getters were Ray Rice (who plays the Pittsburgh Steelers) and DeAngelo Williams (who visits the Arizona Cardinals).
Wide receiver: We did get our targeted wideout, Larry Fitzgerald. He won this poll and gets the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Percy Harvin finished second, so he gets the other starting spot. He visits the San Diego Chargers today with his new quarterback.
Flex: This spot can go to a running back or a wide receiver. We will give it to the player who finishes third in his poll and gets the most votes. If there is a tie (as there was this week), we will go with the player projected by ESPN to score more points. This week, Joseph Addai is projected to score one more point than Wes Welker, so Addai gets the nod at the Houston Texans.
No surprises at tight end (Jason Witten, who visits the Jets) or defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who visit the Baltimore Ravens), and we already used John Kasay on Thursday night.
Grab some popcorn. We'll be back shortly with predictions for this week's action in the People's League.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Fearless Predictions - Richmond
It's going to be a busy weekend for this Website. NASCAR has a Saturday night special at Richmond International Raceway, and most of the National Football League will kick off the 2011 season on Sunday. Before those things, though, we have predictions for the Sprint Cup drivers who will finish in the top 10 tonight. Last week's forecasts went 3-1, lifting our season record to 32-60.
One from the front: Insert the Gomer Pyle "Surprise, surprise, surprise" sound effect here. Jimmie Johnson leads the pack in driver points as the Chase approaches. He finished second last week and starts fifth at Richmond, where he has won three times and finished in the top 10 in the last two races.
One from the back: The usual gang of idiots occupy the bottom 10 spots in this race, and our pick last week (Dave Blaney) developed kidney stones Monday and became the first driver to return to the garage on Tuesday. This week, we'll go with Robby Gordon, who starts 37th and at least has a top five finish at this track on his resume.
Two from the middle: Right now, how can you pick against Jeff Gordon? Last week, he not only won the race at Atlanta, earning sole possession of third place on NASCAR's all-time win list, but he also met Justin Bieber! This week, he starts 17th, but he's not a good bet to finish there.
OK, Tony Stewart. It's time to put up or shut up. True, you're starting 22nd, but you had a strong finish at Atlanta, and you have three wins on this track. You also have a tenuous hold on the 10th and final automatic berth in the Chase, and you can wrap up that playoff spot by working your way toward the front. As Robin Williams said in "Good Will Hunting," it's your move, chief.
Don't forget to get those votes in for the People's Pigskin lineup. Those polls will close Saturday night. We'll be back with predictions for the first week of the fantasy football season.
One from the front: Insert the Gomer Pyle "Surprise, surprise, surprise" sound effect here. Jimmie Johnson leads the pack in driver points as the Chase approaches. He finished second last week and starts fifth at Richmond, where he has won three times and finished in the top 10 in the last two races.
One from the back: The usual gang of idiots occupy the bottom 10 spots in this race, and our pick last week (Dave Blaney) developed kidney stones Monday and became the first driver to return to the garage on Tuesday. This week, we'll go with Robby Gordon, who starts 37th and at least has a top five finish at this track on his resume.
Two from the middle: Right now, how can you pick against Jeff Gordon? Last week, he not only won the race at Atlanta, earning sole possession of third place on NASCAR's all-time win list, but he also met Justin Bieber! This week, he starts 17th, but he's not a good bet to finish there.
OK, Tony Stewart. It's time to put up or shut up. True, you're starting 22nd, but you had a strong finish at Atlanta, and you have three wins on this track. You also have a tenuous hold on the 10th and final automatic berth in the Chase, and you can wrap up that playoff spot by working your way toward the front. As Robin Williams said in "Good Will Hunting," it's your move, chief.
Don't forget to get those votes in for the People's Pigskin lineup. Those polls will close Saturday night. We'll be back with predictions for the first week of the fantasy football season.
Friday, September 9, 2011
The People's Choice - Richmond
There will be no bonus points for the People's Pitstop this week, but we still have a solid lineup. You, the Internet, voted on the NASCAR drivers who should represent us at Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. Your votes, combined with Friday afternoon's qualifying session, have produced these results.
A List: In the last race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, you split your votes even between a driver who's locked into the Chase (Kyle Busch) and one still fighting to get in (Tony Stewart). Busch qualified 13th, or nine spots in front of Stewart, so he will get the start.
B List: The co-winners of this poll were Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, followed by Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bowyer (5th) and Kahne (12th) get the starting nods over Keselowski (19th) and Earnhardt (27th).
C List: Two new favorites have settled into the top spots of this poll. Bobby Labonte got the most votes, while Regan Smith finished second. In qualifying, the order was reversed. Smith will start 23rd, or nine spots in front of Labonte.
We'll be back with predictions for this race. In the meantime, feel free to vote in the fantasy football polls still available on the right side of this page. We want the People's Pigskin lineup to be as strong as possible, and we need your help. Thanks.
A List: In the last race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, you split your votes even between a driver who's locked into the Chase (Kyle Busch) and one still fighting to get in (Tony Stewart). Busch qualified 13th, or nine spots in front of Stewart, so he will get the start.
B List: The co-winners of this poll were Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, followed by Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bowyer (5th) and Kahne (12th) get the starting nods over Keselowski (19th) and Earnhardt (27th).
C List: Two new favorites have settled into the top spots of this poll. Bobby Labonte got the most votes, while Regan Smith finished second. In qualifying, the order was reversed. Smith will start 23rd, or nine spots in front of Labonte.
We'll be back with predictions for this race. In the meantime, feel free to vote in the fantasy football polls still available on the right side of this page. We want the People's Pigskin lineup to be as strong as possible, and we need your help. Thanks.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Our First Result of the Season
The National Football League is about to kick off another season (if the folks in Washington wrap up in time), and we at the People's Pigskin want to thank you, the Internet, for helping us get things started.
Our first fantasy football lineup poll of the season is completed, and you decided that we should let John Kasay of the New Orleans Saints handle the kicking chores this week. He visits Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers tonight.
Please remember that the rest of the polls on the right side of this page are still open. The NASCAR lineup polls will close tonight, and the rest of the fantasy football polls will close Saturday night. Feel free to vote while you watch the game (or the speech -- we at the People's Pigskin don't judge).
We'll be back with the NASCAR poll results.
Our first fantasy football lineup poll of the season is completed, and you decided that we should let John Kasay of the New Orleans Saints handle the kicking chores this week. He visits Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers tonight.
Please remember that the rest of the polls on the right side of this page are still open. The NASCAR lineup polls will close tonight, and the rest of the fantasy football polls will close Saturday night. Feel free to vote while you watch the game (or the speech -- we at the People's Pigskin don't judge).
We'll be back with the NASCAR poll results.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Your Vacation Is Officially Over
A generation ago, even the most diehard football fans wouldn't have dared to think that the National Football League could form its own television channel and keep people tuned to it 12 months a year. But these days, you might feel cheated when this channel interrupts its live updates to bring you a Super Bowl rerun.
That's the way sports are these days, especially if you're a fantasy player. When the NFL had its lockout, all we wanted to know was when it was going to end. Now that the lockout and preseason are over, we want to know who's going to play. If you have a fantasy football team, you better not think you can ignore it for six days, come back to it on Sunday and rest assured that your team's fortunes haven't changed.
On Tuesday, if you were paying attention, you learned that the Jacksonville Jaguars had waited until five days before their season opener (and after he appeared at a chamber of commerce luncheon) to fire David Garrard. At first glimpse, this may not seem like a major concern to fantasy football players, since the only reason you would have been starting Garrard is because you had found a bad quarterback league. But football is a team sport, and one player's misfortune affects so many others. Did you spend your late first round pick on Maurice Jones-Drew? Will he now be facing a defense featuring 11 nose tackles? Maybe you took a flyer on a Jaguars receiver in the 13th round. Are you sure Luke McCown even knows that receiver's name?
Then, on Wednesday, if you were paying any attention at all, you learned that Peyton Manning won't be ready to play Sunday. If you rolled the dice and drafted him anyway, do you have a reliable quarterback to start this week? Do you need to go find Kerry Collins (and pray your opponent for this week didn't just get him off the waiver wire just to burn you)? Do all the other Indianapolis Colts players littering fantasy rosters remain valuable now that Collins is calling the shots? If you wait until Sunday to ask yourself these questions, you may find your alternatives to be quite slim.
And those were the relatively easy calls. We haven't even gotten to things like Arian Foster's photogenic hamstring or Ryan Grant's playing time or whether the Cincinnati Bengals really are stupid enough to let Carson Palmer rot on the shelf to make some short-sighted point. Some of these questions may be resolved by the time this post is published. Some of them may still be in the air at 12:59 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
All of them are why NFL Network won't have to worry about going off the air anytime soon.
Quick reminder: There are polls that need your votes. The kicker poll closes at 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. The fantasy NASCAR polls close Thursday night, and the other fantasy football polls close Saturday night. Please contribute your votes to this experiment in fantasy democracy. Thanks.
That's the way sports are these days, especially if you're a fantasy player. When the NFL had its lockout, all we wanted to know was when it was going to end. Now that the lockout and preseason are over, we want to know who's going to play. If you have a fantasy football team, you better not think you can ignore it for six days, come back to it on Sunday and rest assured that your team's fortunes haven't changed.
On Tuesday, if you were paying attention, you learned that the Jacksonville Jaguars had waited until five days before their season opener (and after he appeared at a chamber of commerce luncheon) to fire David Garrard. At first glimpse, this may not seem like a major concern to fantasy football players, since the only reason you would have been starting Garrard is because you had found a bad quarterback league. But football is a team sport, and one player's misfortune affects so many others. Did you spend your late first round pick on Maurice Jones-Drew? Will he now be facing a defense featuring 11 nose tackles? Maybe you took a flyer on a Jaguars receiver in the 13th round. Are you sure Luke McCown even knows that receiver's name?
Then, on Wednesday, if you were paying any attention at all, you learned that Peyton Manning won't be ready to play Sunday. If you rolled the dice and drafted him anyway, do you have a reliable quarterback to start this week? Do you need to go find Kerry Collins (and pray your opponent for this week didn't just get him off the waiver wire just to burn you)? Do all the other Indianapolis Colts players littering fantasy rosters remain valuable now that Collins is calling the shots? If you wait until Sunday to ask yourself these questions, you may find your alternatives to be quite slim.
And those were the relatively easy calls. We haven't even gotten to things like Arian Foster's photogenic hamstring or Ryan Grant's playing time or whether the Cincinnati Bengals really are stupid enough to let Carson Palmer rot on the shelf to make some short-sighted point. Some of these questions may be resolved by the time this post is published. Some of them may still be in the air at 12:59 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
All of them are why NFL Network won't have to worry about going off the air anytime soon.
Quick reminder: There are polls that need your votes. The kicker poll closes at 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. The fantasy NASCAR polls close Thursday night, and the other fantasy football polls close Saturday night. Please contribute your votes to this experiment in fantasy democracy. Thanks.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Hanging in There
The People's Pitstop scored 222 points in the severely delayed Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It wasn't an impressive outing, but our season total of 6,754 allows us to hang on to the top spot in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league. We lead Dale Jr Amp National Guard 88 by 96 points.
Here are the scoring details from a soggy and historic race.
Kyle Busch: Started 3rd, finished 23rd, 19 laps led and 59 fantasy points. Busch found the front early but found nothing but trouble later in the race, including a pass-through penalty that essentially took him out of the running -- and out of first place in the driver standings.
Clint Bowyer: Started 2nd, finished 36th, 8 laps led and 35 fantasy points. Bowyer also got to the lead early in the race, but he couldn't stay away from the wall (or Juan Pablo Montoya).
A.J. Allmendinger: Started 11th, finished 10th and 72 fantasy points. You know you've had better fantasy NASCAR days when your top scorer is someone who makes people say, "Oh, yeah, he finished in the top 10, and he still has a shot at the Chase."
Paul Menard: Started 22nd, finished 18th and 56 fantasy points. That was Menard's ninth and final start for the People's Pitstop this season, and his time with us ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper. In his nine starts, he racked up 630 points, or an average of 70 a race. His best performance for us was in Michigan in June, when he finished 4th and scored 94 points. His worst was in New Hampshire, when he finished 24th and scored 44. And yes, we missed out on his first Sprint Cup win. But we'll hear from him next season, when he makes Yahoo's B List (at least).
We at the People's Pitstop have already turned our attention to the upcoming week, including the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway. Again, the polls are open, so get started on your voting. Thanks.
Here are the scoring details from a soggy and historic race.
Kyle Busch: Started 3rd, finished 23rd, 19 laps led and 59 fantasy points. Busch found the front early but found nothing but trouble later in the race, including a pass-through penalty that essentially took him out of the running -- and out of first place in the driver standings.
Clint Bowyer: Started 2nd, finished 36th, 8 laps led and 35 fantasy points. Bowyer also got to the lead early in the race, but he couldn't stay away from the wall (or Juan Pablo Montoya).
A.J. Allmendinger: Started 11th, finished 10th and 72 fantasy points. You know you've had better fantasy NASCAR days when your top scorer is someone who makes people say, "Oh, yeah, he finished in the top 10, and he still has a shot at the Chase."
Paul Menard: Started 22nd, finished 18th and 56 fantasy points. That was Menard's ninth and final start for the People's Pitstop this season, and his time with us ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper. In his nine starts, he racked up 630 points, or an average of 70 a race. His best performance for us was in Michigan in June, when he finished 4th and scored 94 points. His worst was in New Hampshire, when he finished 24th and scored 44. And yes, we missed out on his first Sprint Cup win. But we'll hear from him next season, when he makes Yahoo's B List (at least).
We at the People's Pitstop have already turned our attention to the upcoming week, including the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway. Again, the polls are open, so get started on your voting. Thanks.
Meet the People's Pigskin
It took just over half an hour for the members of the People's League to select their fantasy football teams for this year. We at the People's Pigskin were able to follow some of your advice in making our draft picks. Now we are proud to present our roster and a draft recap.
Round 1: The Internet's favorite fantasy football team drew the eighth spot in this 10-team draft. By the time we got to the podium, our targeted running back (Adrian Peterson) and quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) were already gone. In fact, three quarterbacks -- Rodgers, Michael Vick and Matt Ryan -- were already off the board. So we went with another workhorse running back, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens.
Round 2: One of the advantages of having a late spot in a snake draft is that you get to make your second pick quickly. And this time, we were able to follow the advice you gave us in last week's polls. We got our targeted wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals.
Round 3: By the time our turn arrived in this round, six quarterbacks had been selected. If we didn't take one soon, we might have ended up with Curtis Painter. So we got our hands on Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys.
Round 4: A year ago, if I had told you that DeAngelo Williams would be available in the fourth round of a fantasy football draft, you might have asked if these folks were the ones making selections. True, his Carolina Panthers stank out loud last year, but he's still the primary weapon of his team, especially with a rookie under center.
Round 5: You might as well rename this round "The Tight End Round," since this seems to be when players start making their picks for that position. Unsurprisingly, Antonio Gates was picked early in this round. And the People's Pigskin was able to follow your advice and pick up Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys.
Rounds 6-8: We got two more wide receivers (Wes Welker of the New England Patriots and Percy Harvin of the Minnesota Vikings) and our backup quarterback (Eli Manning of the New York Giants).
Round 9: One of the hardest calls in any fantasy football draft is when to get your defense/special teams. Pull the trigger too early, and you might miss a chance to draft a quality offensive player. Wait too long, and you might end up getting the guys from "Necessary Roughness." The Hudson Valley Hawks2 got the ball rolling this round by drafting the New York Jets D/ST. We followed up by snagging the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And the rest: We selected Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts), Michael Bush (Oakland Raiders), Plaxico Burress (New York Jets), Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions), Danny Woodhead (New England Patriots), Mike Sims-Walker (St. Louis Rams) and John Kasay (New Orleans Saints). Yes, we waited until the last round to get our kicker. Magazine writers across the country would be so proud.
And that's the lineup we will field this weekend as the People's Pigskin takes on the Hudson Valley Hawks2. The polls are now open. The one on top (for our kicker) will close Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, since Kasay is facing the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. The rest of the football polls can be found underneath the NASCAR polls and will close Saturday night. Let the voting begin!
We'll be back (hopefully) with the NASCAR results.
Round 1: The Internet's favorite fantasy football team drew the eighth spot in this 10-team draft. By the time we got to the podium, our targeted running back (Adrian Peterson) and quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) were already gone. In fact, three quarterbacks -- Rodgers, Michael Vick and Matt Ryan -- were already off the board. So we went with another workhorse running back, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens.
Round 2: One of the advantages of having a late spot in a snake draft is that you get to make your second pick quickly. And this time, we were able to follow the advice you gave us in last week's polls. We got our targeted wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals.
Round 3: By the time our turn arrived in this round, six quarterbacks had been selected. If we didn't take one soon, we might have ended up with Curtis Painter. So we got our hands on Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys.
Round 4: A year ago, if I had told you that DeAngelo Williams would be available in the fourth round of a fantasy football draft, you might have asked if these folks were the ones making selections. True, his Carolina Panthers stank out loud last year, but he's still the primary weapon of his team, especially with a rookie under center.
Round 5: You might as well rename this round "The Tight End Round," since this seems to be when players start making their picks for that position. Unsurprisingly, Antonio Gates was picked early in this round. And the People's Pigskin was able to follow your advice and pick up Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys.
Rounds 6-8: We got two more wide receivers (Wes Welker of the New England Patriots and Percy Harvin of the Minnesota Vikings) and our backup quarterback (Eli Manning of the New York Giants).
Round 9: One of the hardest calls in any fantasy football draft is when to get your defense/special teams. Pull the trigger too early, and you might miss a chance to draft a quality offensive player. Wait too long, and you might end up getting the guys from "Necessary Roughness." The Hudson Valley Hawks2 got the ball rolling this round by drafting the New York Jets D/ST. We followed up by snagging the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And the rest: We selected Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts), Michael Bush (Oakland Raiders), Plaxico Burress (New York Jets), Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions), Danny Woodhead (New England Patriots), Mike Sims-Walker (St. Louis Rams) and John Kasay (New Orleans Saints). Yes, we waited until the last round to get our kicker. Magazine writers across the country would be so proud.
And that's the lineup we will field this weekend as the People's Pigskin takes on the Hudson Valley Hawks2. The polls are now open. The one on top (for our kicker) will close Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, since Kasay is facing the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. The rest of the football polls can be found underneath the NASCAR polls and will close Saturday night. Let the voting begin!
We'll be back (hopefully) with the NASCAR results.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Draft Night, Baby!
There are few better times in a fantasy football player's life than the draft. As the NFL commercial said a few years back, as of right now, we're all undefeated. No one has suffered any Brian Westbrooks or DeSean Jacksons or any of the million other events that can break your heart on any given Sunday. Your roster is healthy (for the most part), and you have no reason to feel anything but optimism about the season.
For the People's League, that optimism will hit its peak at 9 p.m. EST tonight, when we hold our annual draft. By Tuesday, we should have a roster for the People's Pigskin and a new set of polls that will determine our lineup each week. (Remember: You, the Internet, told us to target Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald and Jason Witten in our draft, and we will do our best to get them on the roster.)
We came oh so close to winning the People's League championship last year. With your help, we can reach the top.
What we can't do is wait for Mother Nature to stop messing with NASCAR. The Sprint Cup race that was supposed to take place Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been postponed until Tuesday morning. We will try to get the People's Pitstop results to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are forced to turn our attention to Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway, the last chance for drivers to get into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's a Saturday night race with a Friday qualifying session, so we have lineup polls up already. They will close Thursday night. Feel free to vote now.
For the People's League, that optimism will hit its peak at 9 p.m. EST tonight, when we hold our annual draft. By Tuesday, we should have a roster for the People's Pigskin and a new set of polls that will determine our lineup each week. (Remember: You, the Internet, told us to target Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald and Jason Witten in our draft, and we will do our best to get them on the roster.)
We came oh so close to winning the People's League championship last year. With your help, we can reach the top.
What we can't do is wait for Mother Nature to stop messing with NASCAR. The Sprint Cup race that was supposed to take place Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been postponed until Tuesday morning. We will try to get the People's Pitstop results to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are forced to turn our attention to Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway, the last chance for drivers to get into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's a Saturday night race with a Friday qualifying session, so we have lineup polls up already. They will close Thursday night. Feel free to vote now.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Fearless Predictions - Atlanta
Today's post could be called a hybrid, since it covered both fantasy football and NASCAR.
Let's take care of the football news first. You, the Internet, were kind enough to vote in our polls about the People's Pigskin and which players it should target first in Monday night's People's League draft. You decided that we should target Larry Fitzgerald as our primary wide receiver (OK, as long as we don't have to pay him) and Jason Witten as our tight end. Those are the players we will try to pick up for those positions.
Now, we turn our attention to NASCAR. The Sprint Cup drivers will spend their Sunday night taking on Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the people who bring you the People's Pitstop will spend it hoping the drivers we pick for the top 10 don't make us look like clowns. Last week's forecasts went 2-2, lifting our season record to 29-59. All in all, it's still been a better season than Jerry Lewis is having.
One from the front: It probably wouldn't shock you to learn that Jeff Gordon has won four Sprint Cup races at Atlanta. It also probably won't shock you to learn that he's finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races. Given all this, it probably shouldn't shock you that Gordon starts tonight in 5th place.
One from the back: The pickings in the back 10 are particularly meager for this race. If hard pressed, we'll go with Dave Blaney, who starts 35th tonight and sits highest among the bottom 10 drivers in point standings (30th).
Two from the middle: Brad Keselowski did not qualify well enough (14th) to earn a starting spot this week, but a busted oil pan has been his team's only misstep since the Road America test. Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in the last five races, including two that he won outright.
Right in front of him tonight, in the 13th starting spot, we find Denny Hamlin. He currently holds the final wild card spot, but he probably would prefer one of the top 10 automatic qualifying spots. And he got a top 10 finish last week at Bristol.
Enjoy the race (and the telethon), everybody. We'll be back with results and new polls.
Let's take care of the football news first. You, the Internet, were kind enough to vote in our polls about the People's Pigskin and which players it should target first in Monday night's People's League draft. You decided that we should target Larry Fitzgerald as our primary wide receiver (OK, as long as we don't have to pay him) and Jason Witten as our tight end. Those are the players we will try to pick up for those positions.
Now, we turn our attention to NASCAR. The Sprint Cup drivers will spend their Sunday night taking on Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the people who bring you the People's Pitstop will spend it hoping the drivers we pick for the top 10 don't make us look like clowns. Last week's forecasts went 2-2, lifting our season record to 29-59. All in all, it's still been a better season than Jerry Lewis is having.
One from the front: It probably wouldn't shock you to learn that Jeff Gordon has won four Sprint Cup races at Atlanta. It also probably won't shock you to learn that he's finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races. Given all this, it probably shouldn't shock you that Gordon starts tonight in 5th place.
One from the back: The pickings in the back 10 are particularly meager for this race. If hard pressed, we'll go with Dave Blaney, who starts 35th tonight and sits highest among the bottom 10 drivers in point standings (30th).
Two from the middle: Brad Keselowski did not qualify well enough (14th) to earn a starting spot this week, but a busted oil pan has been his team's only misstep since the Road America test. Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in the last five races, including two that he won outright.
Right in front of him tonight, in the 13th starting spot, we find Denny Hamlin. He currently holds the final wild card spot, but he probably would prefer one of the top 10 automatic qualifying spots. And he got a top 10 finish last week at Bristol.
Enjoy the race (and the telethon), everybody. We'll be back with results and new polls.
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